Control device for ringless yarn carrier attachments



April 4, 1944. H. E. HAEHNEL 2,346,105 CONTROL DEVICE FCR RINCLEss YARN CARRIER ATTACHMENT Filed Feb. 27, 1943 3 SheebS-Shee'i'I l INVENTOR: fl'erber Eriah aemel, BY w. 40W. C

ATTORNEY- 'April 4, 1944- H. E. HAEHNEL 2,346,105

CONTROL DEVICE FOR RINGLESS YARN CARRIER ATTACHMENT Filed Feb. 27, 1943 3 Sheets-S1166?I 2 (sz wf 65 7 1:15-15.- Z

INVENTOR HererEr idx/Haelme,

BY o4. Mm,

ATTO R N EY.

April 4, 1944. n. E. HAEHNEL 2,346,105

CONTROL DEVICE FOR RINGLSS YARN CARRIER ATTACHMENT Filed'Feb. 27, i945 5 sheets-sheet 5 INVENTOR BY 0.411% M/Whg ATTORNEY.`

Patented Apr. 4, 1944 CONTROL DEVIGEFOR RINGLESS YARN CARRIER, ATTAQHMENTS Herbert Erich-Haehnel, West Reading, Pa., as-

signorto Textile Machine Works, Wyomissng, Fa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application February 27, 1943, Serial No. 477,462

8 Claims. (01.66-127) This invention relates to straight or full-fashioned `knitting machines and more particularly to means arranged to prevent accidental change in the predeterminedoperation of certain selective yarn feeding mechanisms of such machines.

It is common practice to knit the.k greater portion of the blanks for full-fashioned hosiery according to the fringlessf principle,` lthat is, with a plurality of yarns, 'usuallythree For this purpose, it is standard practice to provide a friction box arrangement having automatic yarn carrier rod selector means for connecting and releasing the multiple yarn carrier lrods carrying outthe ringless knitting. However, when knitting certain areas of such a ringless stocking blank, only a single yarn is used and for this purpose a standard friction box of the full-fashioned knitting machine is commonly employed to reciprocate a single yarn carrier rod. During operation of the single threadvcarrier, the friction box with automatic 'carrier' selecting means' is released from operation, is disconnected from the friction-box rod kof Vthe machine and moved to inactive position. u 4

When the automatic carrier selecting mechanism for ringlessf knitting is again put into operation, after a single Yrod has been operated as explained, the carrier rod connecting means associated with the friction box must be precisely positioned for engagement with the first operating yarn carrier rod to be drivenv to lay yarn for the initial course of the ringless portion. Certain automatic carrier rod selecting mechanisms heretofore available vhave provenV unreliable and unsatisfactory, in this respect in that the first or. startingl yarn carrier rod has not always been engaged as intended, with the result `that the fabric was unintentionally pressed off under* these conditions. Further, sometimes the wrong carrier rod has been engaged or mechanical interference has occurredbetween a dog or similarly acting member or portion on the carrier rod and an engaging member or portion of they selecting mechanism. f

One object of my invention isto provide novel means. in straight or fun-,fashioned knitting machines for overcoming the mentioned and other difficulties. l Y i Another object is toprovide such means which will invariably function to operate only the proper yarn carrier rod at the start of the ringless yarn laying cycle.

yIt is also an object of my invention to provide such means which will prevent moving ofthe selector means into carrier rod engaging positionwith the first carrier rod to be operated when the selector means is. improperly set for operation.

With these and, other objects in view which will become apparent from the followingdetailed description of the illustrative embodiment ofthe invention Shawn in theA accompanying drew-ings my invention, residesinuthe yarn carrier yrodi operating mechanism Comprising the novel elements, features of construction vand* arrangement of parts in cooperative relationship, aslhereininafter morey particularly pointed out inV the claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is across sectional View through a full-,fashioned knitting machine and shows my invention applied thereto.;

Fig. 2 isy a View as seenv by looking inthe direction of the arrows 2,-2von.k Fig. Lhowever on an enlarged scale, relativel toK the latter.

Fig. 34 is a crosssectional. viewtakcn along the line 3 3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 isa back elevation of a` portieri` ofthe mechanism yshown in Fig. 1 as. viewed in. thev direction ofthe arrows` 4 4 and enlarged relative to Fig. 1?

Fig. 5 isa View similar tol Fig. 4 but with the parts in different relative positions;

6 is an enlarged View oi the. mechanism shown at the upper part of Fig. 1;

Fig. '7 isa sectional view taken substantially alongv the lines l-l of Fig.` 2 with parts omitted in orderr to more clearly show the control means of the invention;` and Fig. 8 is a crossv sectional View taken substantially along the line BeB. of Fig. 5.

In the drawings` and description, only the means necessary to a complete understanding ci the invention have been specically set forth; further information as to the construction and operation of other related, usual and well known knitting machine elements, mechanisms, etc., may be found in one or more of the following -Pblcateff Y 1. Pamphlet entitled- Full--Fashioned Knitting Machinespublished and copyrighted by the Textile Machine Works, Rea ding, Pennsylvania, in 1920.

2,. Three catalogs entitled- The. ,Reading Full- Fashioned Knitting Machine Parts Catalog--published and copyrighted bythe Textile Machine Works, in 1929, 1935 and 19,40, respectively.

turespublished by the Wyomissing Polytechnic Institute, Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, in 1935.

The machine disclosed herein to which my invention is applied is a well-known type of fullfashioned knitting machine and has, on the friction-box for ringless knitting, a carrier rod selecting means of the plural element or two-arm form.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, I have shown therein a conventional full-fashioned knitting machine in which the usual frame members comprise a center frame I I supporting a front beam I2, a back beam I3, a front bed I4 and a center bed I6. The center bed I6 carries a series of brackets, one of which is shown at I1, for supporting the carrier rods I to 8, inclusive, for sliding movement during feeding of the yarn to the loop forming elements of the machine, i. e., the needles, sinkers and dividers, not shown. Full speed and half speed friction rods I8 and I9, respectively, operate Athe carrier rods by means of the usual friction box devices of the machine.

Certain of the carrier rods, i. e. carrier rods I, 2, and 3 are operated to feed yarn to the loop forming elements alternately in predetermined sequence to produce ringless fabric. For this purpose, there is provided a carrier rod alternating attachment 25 of the two lever type (Figs. 1.

tion rod I8 through the usual friction shoes, (not shown). The friction box 26 is also provided with a portion 28 having sliding engagement with the half speed rod I9 (Figs. 6 and 8).

The frame member of friction box 26 is provided with upright members or arms 30 (Figs. 2 and 6) between which are disposed elements or levers 32 and 33 rotatably mounted on a shaft 34 (Fig. 8) eccentrically carried on a shaft 31 secured in the arms 30. The shaft 34 may be turned about the shaft 31 by means of a lever 38 which is secured to the eccentric shaft 3,4 and carries a detent member 4I which extends into an opening of the shaft 34 and is adapted to engage a iiat portion 42 on the shaft 31 (Fig. 8) in either one of two positions of the lever 38 for reasons hereinafter set forth. Said two positions of lever 38 are substantially 180 apart and, consequently, the detent 4I and the opening 45 for the detent in shaft 34 are made round so that detent 4I can be turned to permit its -iiattened inner end to engage fiat portion 42 in either position of lever 38. The levers 32 and 33 have extensions 35 and 36, respectively, spaced by bolts 43, heaving jam nuts 44, from extensions 41 and 48 of cam levers 5I and 52, respectively, which are also pivotally mounted on shaft 34 and along side of levers 32 and 33, respectively. The cam levers 5I and 52 have cam followers 53 and 54, respectively, for engagement with cams 51 and 5B, respectively, disposed between arms 38, on an auxiliary cam shaft 59 and rotated therewith by pawl and ratchet means (not shown) operated from the usual connecting bar of the machine in a manner similar to that shown and described in the F. Autem Patent No. 2,219,733, issued October 29, 1940, and shown in the aforesaid 1940 Parts Catalog. Tension springs 62 con-` nected between extensions 63 and 64 also on levers 32, 5I and 33, 53, respectively, transmit a. pull between them to maintain the extensions 35 and 38 normally as close to extensions 41 and 48 as permitted by bolts 43 and springs 61 connected between the levers 32 and 33 and the friction box 26 (Fig. 8) urge the levers 32 and 33 in the clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 8, to maintain the followers 53 and 54 in contact with the cams 51 and 58, respectively, by the clockwise torque thereby transmitted to levers 5I and 52. The bolts 43 in extensions 35 and 36 contact with extensions 41 and 48 to hold levers 32 and 33 in the desired relation to the carrier rods I, 2 and 3 which are driven thereby, jam nuts 44 holding bolts 43 in adjusted position. Owing to springs 82 and 61 the motions of cam followers 53 and 54 are transmitted through trains of parts which are yieldable irrespective of the directions of movement of levers 32 and 33, whereby no damage results in case any portion of either of said levers strikes an obstruction, an occurrence which their manner of use renders quite possible. Levers 32 and 33 have iingers 68 and 69 (Figs. 6 and 8) for engagement with dogs 12 on the carrier rods I, 2 and 3 and are operated by the cams 51 and 58 to alternately connect and release the carrier rods in a manner similar to that shown in the aforesaid Patent No. 2,219,733.

In this instance, the carrier rods are operated in 2, 3, I sequence, that is, the carrier rod 2 is the first carrier rod engaged by the levers 32 and 33, the carrier rod 3 is the second to be engaged and the carrier rod I is the third and last carrier rod to be engaged in the sequence. The carrier rod 2 being the first carrier rod to be operated, rod I is the last one to be operated in knitting the ringless portion of the fabric. However. the operation of the carrier rods as recited, is only an illustration of one sequence of operation, and I do not limit myself to this. When it is desired to discontinue operation of the attachment 25 at the end of the last yarn laying stroke of the alternating attachment 25, in

which the carrier rod I is moved from left to right, as viewed in Figs. 2 and 3, the levers 32 and 33 are shifted to engage rod 2 and remain in the position in which they engage or are adapted to engage the carrier rod 2 until after it has again been operated. At this time the detent member 4I is withdrawn from engagement with the flat portion 42 of the shaft 31 and the lever 38 is rotated in a counterclockwise directionl from the position shown in Fig. 6, to the position of Fig. 8, in which position the detent member 4I is again engaged with the flat portion 42 of the shaft 31 which action moves the levers 32 and 33 to inactive position relative to the dogs 12 on the carrier rods, as shown in Fig. 8. Also at this time, the pawl and ratchet means on the auxiliary cam shaft is disabled to prevent further rotation of the auxiliary cam shaft and the attachment 25 is released from the friction-box rod I 8. The attachment is maintained in this condition until the carrier rods are again to be sequentially operated.

In order to prevent engagement of any carrier rod except carrier rod 2 at the'start of the next sequential operation of the carrier rods, there is provided a control means 15 (Figs. 4, 5 and 7) which prevents movement of the lever 38 unless the-auxiliary cam shaft 59 is in proper position to start the ringless sequence. kThe control means 15 comprises a cam 16 mounted on the shaft 59 to rotate in fixed relation with the cams 51 and 58. The cam lli;v cooperates with a cam follower 1? carried on an arm 18 of a lever 19 pivotally mounted on a bracket 82 secured to the friction box 2S. The cam follower 1,1 is biased toward the cam 16 by means of a spring 83 which is connected between a pin 84 on the lever 19 and a pin'ii on the bracket 82. The lever 19 has a second arm 81 which is adapted to overlie the path of movement of an end 88 of lever 33 When it is in the position of Figs. 5 and 8.

With this arrangement, when the lever 38 has been moved to the position shown in Fig. 8 and vthe pawl and ratchet mechanism (not shown) for the shaft 59 has been disabled to prevent rotation of the shaft while the alternating attachment is inactive, the cam follower 11 will be in engagement with a low part 89-of cam 15 (Fig. 7) and the-arm a1 positioned out of the plane of movement of the end 38 of the lever 38 as shown in Figs. 4 and 6, whereupon the-lever 33 may beturned in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. S, to reengage the levers 32'and 33 with the carrier rod 2 to start the ring'less knitting. However, if for some reason the shaft 5a and cam 16 are accidently rotated to the position in which the levers 32 and 33 are wrongly placed and would if lever 33 were turned back to their position shown in Fig. 6, strike against some other part or parts, then the cam follower 11 isin engagement with the high portion ofthe cam 16, as shown in Figs. 5 and 8, and the arm 81 yof the lever 19 will overlie the-plane of r'novementl of the lever 38, as shown in Figs. 5 and 8, so'that it cannot be moved from its position of Fig. 8 to reengag'e the levers 32 and 33 to the carrier rod 2 until the shaft 59 is again turned to engage the low part Sii of the camy 15 with the cam follower 1.1, The operator, being thus apprised that the parts are in the Wrong relative positions, takes the necessary steps to correct the adjustment and 'f positions ofthe parts before again starting the friction-box 2a for ringless knitting.

Of course, the improvements specically shown and described by which I obtain the indicated results, can be changed and modified in various ways without departing from the invention herein disclosed and hereinafter claimed.

While I have disclosed herein a means for preventing the start of operation of the carrier rod selecting means except when in a predetermined position, I do not claim this combination broadly, this combination in its broad aspect being shown and claimed in the prior application of Gottlob Bitzer, filed March 27, 1942, Serial No. 436,414, for Yarn carrier rod operating means for knitting machines.

I claim as my invention:

l. In a knitting machine having yarn carrier rods, means for driving said carrier rods comprising a friction box, means associated with said friction box including a pair of elements for connecting said yarn carrier rods to and releasing them from said friction box in predetermined sequence, means on said friction box for moving said carrier rod connecting and releasing elements from active to inactive position when said connecting and releasing elements are in predetermined relation to said yarn carrier rods and means carried by said friction box for preventing return of said elements from said inactive to active position relative to said yarn carrier rods unless. said: connecting and'releasing means is in said predetermined relation to said yarn carrier rods. i

2'. In aknitting machine having yarn carrier rods, means for driving said yarn carrier rods comprising a. friction box, elements for connecting` said yarn carrier rods to and releasing them fromsaid friction box in predetermined sequence, an.` auxiliary cam shaft, cam means on said frictionbox operatedfby said auxiliary cam shaft for operating said element connecting and releasing means, means on said friction box for moving said elements from active to inactive position when said connecting and releasing means are in predetermined; relation to vsaid carrier rods, means including a lever on said friction box adapted to engagesaid element moving means thereby preventing movement of said elements from said inactive to active position relative to said carrier rods. unless said elements are in said predetermined relation to said yarn carrier rods.

3. In 'a knitting machine having yarn carrier rods, means for` driving said carrier rods comprising, a frictionbox, a pair of elements for connecting said yarn carrier rods to and releasing them from said friction box in predetermined sequence, an auxiliary cam shaft, cam means on said friction box operated by said auxiliary cam shaft for operating said elements to connect and release said carrier reds, means on saidI friction box for moving said elements from active to inactive position when said connecting and releasing means is in predetermined relation to said carrier rods, means including a calm; member carried on said friction box in preetermined relation with respect to said element operating cam means and a lever on said friction box cooperating with said cam member for preventing movement of said elements from inactive to active position relative to said carrier rods-unless said-connecting and releasing means isv in `said predetermined relation to said yarn carrier rods.

4. Ina knitting machine having yarn carrier rods, means for driving said yarn carrier rods comprising, a friction box, a pair of elements carried by said friction box for connecting said yarn carrier rods to and releasing them from said friction box in predetermined sequence, an auxiliary cam shaft, cam means for said friction box operated by said auxiliary cam shaft for operating said elements to connect and release said carrier rods, means on said friction box for moving said elements from active to inactive position when said cam means is in predetermined relation to said connecting and releasing elements, means including a cam member carried on said friction box and operated in predetermined relation with respect to said element operating cam means and a lever on said friction box cooperating with said cam member adapted to overlie the path of movement of said element moving means to prevent movement of said elements from inactive to active position unless said cam means is in said predetermined relation to said connecting and releasing means.

5. In a knitting machine having yarn carrier rods, means for driving said yarn carrier rods comprising a friction box, a pair of elements carried by said friction box for connecting said yarn carrier rods to and releasing them from said friction box in predetermined sequence, an auxiliary cam shaft, cam means on said friction box operated by said auxiliary cam shaft for operating said elements to connect and release said carrier rods, means on said friction box for moving said elements from active to inactive position when said elements are in a predetermined position in said carrier rod connecting and releasing sequence, means including a cam member carried on said friction box in predetermined relation to said element operating cam means and a lever also carried on said friction box cooperating witl'n said cam member and adapted to prevent return of said elements from inactive to active position unless said elements are at said predetermined position in said carrier rod connecting and releasing sequence.

6. In a knitting machine having yarn carrier rods, means for driving said yarn carrier rods comprising a friction box, a pair of elements carried by said friction box for connecting said yarn carrier rods to and releasing them from said friction box in predetermined sequence, an auxiliary cam shaft, cam means on said friction box operated by said auxiliary cam shaft for operating said elements to connect and release said carrier rods, a second cam means on said friction box operated in predetermined relation to said first cam means and having high and low cam portions, a lever carried on said friction box cooperating with said second cam means and means for moving said pair of elements from active to inactive position relative to said yarn carrier rods when said lever is in engagement with the low portion of said second cam means, said lever adapted to overlie the path of movement of said element moving means to thereby prevent return of said elements from inactive to active position except when said lever is in engagement with said low portion of said second cam means.

7. In a multiple carrier friction box attachment for ringless knitting, in combination, elements for driving yarn carrier rods pivoted on an axis on the friction box, an auxiliary camshaft mounted to rotate in the friction box having cams for turning said elements, cam followers cooperating with said cams and adapted to transmit thrusts to said elements, means including a lever mounted to swing in a plane at right angles to said axis whereby said elements may be shifted from effective to ineffective position, and back again, and means for latching said lever in the position in which said elements are held in ineffective position whenever said cams lie between certain angular positions relative to said followers, said last means including a second lever pivoted on the frictionbox having a cam follower supported therefrom and having an arm extending, when the second lever is in a rcertain angular position, into position to latch said first lever in the position in which said elements are ineffective and a cam on said auxiliary camshaft adapted to cooperate with said last follower to hold said second lever in latching position so long as the auxiliary camshaft is between certain angular positions relative to the last mentioned follower.

8. In a multiple carrier friction-box attachment adapted for ringless knitting, connecting means pivoted on an axis on the friction-box for driving yarn carrier rods, an auxiliary camshaft mounted to rotate on the friction-box having cam means for turning said connecting means, follower means for cooperating with said cam means and adapted to transmit thrusts from said cam means to said connecting means, means including a lever mounted to swing in a plane at right angles to said axis whereby said connecting means may be shifted from effective to ineffective position and back again, and means for latching said lever in the position in which said connecting means is held in ineffective position, said latching means including a second lever pivoted on the friction-box to swing in a plane at right angles to the plane of movement of said rst lever and having a cam follower supported therefrom and having an arm extending, when the second lever is in a certain angular position, into position to retain said first lever in the position in which said connecting means is ineffective and a cam on said auxiliary camshaft adapted to cooperate with said last follower to hold said second lever in retaining position so long as the auxiliary camshaft is between certain angular positions relative to the last mentioned follower.

HERBERT ERICH H AEHNEL. 

